J.J. Abrams' Star Trek will street Nov. 17, and Paramount will spread the film out on single disc and 2-disc standard DVD editions, as well as a 3-disc Blu-ray release, the latter featuring what's billed as "plot-based deleted scenes," a new phrase that's rather baffling, given most deleted scenes were originally conceived to advance plotting, if not deepen characters.

***

Jack Ketchum's Offspring ($24.97) arrives Oct. 6 from Anchor Bay/Starz, and will include a commentary track with author Ketchum, director Andrew van den Houten, cinematographer/producer William M. Miller, plus a featurette, script, photo gallery, and webisodes. This is the third Ketchum production distributed by Anchor Bay, alongside The Girl Next Door(2007) and The Lost (2006). The film's cast as well as author Ketchum will be present at Rue Morgue's Festival of Fear.

The label will also release the Canadian slasher Happy Birthday to Me (1981), a title previously released by Columbia and long out of print on DVD. The film was directed by J. Lee Thompson (The Guns of Navarone) and co-produced by John Dunning (My Bloody Valentine).

***

Sam Raimi's Drag Me To Hell will appear on DVD ($36.99) and BR ($46.99) with theatrical and unrated cuts on Oct. 13.

***

From Alliance, Easy Virtue ($36.99) streets Sept. 22, Away We Go ($36.99) on Sept.29th, and Zach Galifianakis' The Visioneers has been re-scheduled for Oct. 6.

***

E1 will release Atom Egoyan's Adoration ($34.99) on Oct. 13, the horror film Dead Snow ($34.99) Oct. 20, and Bela Tar's The Man from London ($34.99) on Oct. 27.

***

Vivendi/Cinema Vault will release the horror film The Blackout ($19.95) Oct. 13, and Blue Blood / aka If I Didn't Care ($19.95), one of Roy Scheider's last films, arrives Oct. 6 with interviews, behind the scenes footage, and a trailer. Scheider died in 2008, and Blue Blood was originally shot in 2007, prior to the direct-to-video thriller Dark Honeymoon (2008), and Iron Cross (officially slated for a 2010 release).

On their own, Vivendi will bring out the rock documentary Anvil ($24.95) Oct. 6.

Warner Bros. has also announced some of their Christmas titles. I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown (2003) comes out in a remastered edition while the following classics will debut on Blu-ray for $35.99: A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965), Horton Hears a Who! (1970), and Dr. Seuss' The Grinch Stole Christmas (1966).

***

Lastly, fall TV releases will include Flashpoint (Oct. 13) and The Tudors: Season 3 Uncut (Nov. 10) from Phase4Films; the original sixties show One Step Beyond: Season 1 (Sept. 15) and George Romero's Tales from the Darkside: Season 2 (Oct. 6) from Paramount; and Fear Itself: Season 1 and Crash: Season 1 (both Sept. 15) from Maple (Canada) and Lionsgate (U.S.A.), the latter title featuring alternate endings and deleted scenes.

***

And the most unnecessary packaging concept for the fall (so far): Dreamworks crafting O-sleeves for 8 of their core animated titles (including the Shrek franchise, and single titles such as Kung Fu Panda) with sleeve art tied to Monsters vs. Aliens, under the branding "B.O.B. Ate My DVD."